1. Background of the Invention
The invention is directed to a vehicle capable of performing a wide range of tasks. For example, the vehicle can perform the functions of a tractor, bulldozer, dump truck, ditch digger, mower, and carrier. The versatility of the vehicle makes it effective for use in construction, landscaping, excavation, road work, farm and other work environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,120 issued Nov. 21, 1995 to Adolf Krob discloses a vehicle with four wheels, a driver""s cabin mounted assymetrically on a front portion of the vehicle, a load container mounted to the rear portion of the vehicle, a working boom coupled to a rail at the side of the driver""s cabin, and a tool attached to the end of the working boom. The rail extends from the front to the back of the cabin, and supports a rotary actuator to which the working boom is attached. To allow the boom to swing out in front or in back of the cabin, a rotary actuator coupled between the boom and the rail. The boom unit has three additional hydraulic actuators to control movement of the boom unit and attached tool. Because the boom is coupled to the rail at the side of the cabin at a position well off-center with respect to the vehicle""s center of gravity, the vehicle has a tendency to tip over. The vehicle therefore includes an actuator and arms extending from the front of the vehicle to serve as an outrigger to stabilize the vehicle during operation of the boom. For storage during travel, a tool such as a load bucket can be positioned with the boom in the load container and detached, after which the boom is folded along the vehicle""s side. If the tool is a relatively small shovel or dipper bucket, the tool can remain attached to the boom unit and folded against the side of the vehicle for storage during travel. The vehicle is also equipped with an adaptation blade and a hydropneumatic spring system to raise and lower the vehicle to pick-up or drop off a tool from the adaptation blade.
Although meritorious in several respects including its versatility, the vehicle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,120 also suffers from several disadvantages. For example, due to the fact that the boom unit is well off-center with respect to the vehicle""s center of gravity, one or more outriggers must be used to stabilize the vehicle while lifting loads or working the tool with the boom. Such outriggers add to the complexity and expense of the vehicle. Also, the vehicle""s cabin has space only for one person who must drive the vehicle and operate the boom and tool. To discharge a load from the tool into the load container, the operator must manipulate the boom and tool controls while using rear view mirrors or while turning to look backward to view the position of the boom and tool with respect to the rear-mounted load container. Such actions are difficult and strenuous for the operator, and present significant risk of a loss of control of the boom and tool and/or discharge of the load in an undesired location. In addition, because the boom of U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,120 is positioned so far off-center on its vehicle, certain tools such as mowers cannot be attached to the boom because they require coupling to the vehicle along the direction of motive force applied by the vehicle. Therefore, rather than using its boom as an attachment for tools such as mowers or threshers, the vehicle of U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,120 requires a particular adaptation blade to be mounted to the front of the vehicle as well as tools configured to mate with the adaptation blade. In addition, such vehicle requires a hydropneumatic spring system to raise and lower the vehicle to engage or disengage the adaptation blade with the specially-configured tools. Such adaptation blade, tools and hydropneumatic spring system add significant complexity and cost to the vehicle. In addition, the vehicle of U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,120 must be configured to provide sufficient space for the boom when folded against the side of the vehicle. This eliminates space for fuel or hydraulic fluid tanks normally positioned on the sides of such vehicles. Furthermore, the vehicle of U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,120 is not equipped to transport relatively unwieldy loads such as logs, poles, bars, columns or other elongated objects. It would be desirable to provide a vehicle that overcomes the above-stated disadvantages.
It is an object of the invention to provide a vehicle that is highly versatile and adaptable for use with different tools, yet which is relatively simplified in construction and use as compared to previous vehicles.
It is another object of the invention to provide a vehicle having a boom unit and coupled tool, that is configured for enhanced stability relative to previous vehicles and which requires no outriggers or other stabilizers for operation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a vehicle with sufficient space for two persons, i.e., an operator and a co-operator, in which the co-operator can readily view the boom unit and attached tool as they are positioned over the vehicle""s dump body to assist in operation and discharge of a load into the dump body in a relatively safe manner.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a vehicle with a boom unit usable not only for tools such as load or dipper buckets, but also with other tools such as mowers, threshers, augers, etc., especially those which must be driven by the vehicle in a relatively straight-on manner to be operated effectively.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a vehicle in which the boom unit and coupled tool can be stored in the vehicle""s load body during travel to provide enhanced space for storage tanks on the vehicle sides as compared to previous vehicles.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a vehicle capable of handling unwieldy loads such as relatively logs, poles, bars, columns or other elongated objects.
The vehicle of this invention includes a chassis, a cabin mounted on a first side of the chassis on a forward portion thereof, and a plurality of wheels coupled to the chassis to movably support the chassis on the ground. The vehicle also includes a boom unit mounted to the chassis adjacent the cabin, a tool coupled to an end of the boom unit, and a turntable unit mounted to the chassis at a central portion thereof. The boom unit is coupled to the turntable unit which supports the boom unit for rotation. The vehicle also includes a dump body mounted to a rear portion of the chassis. The turntable is capable of moving the boom unit and the tool over a second side of the chassis opposite the first side between a first position at which the tool is positioned forward of the chassis to pick up a load, and a second position at which the tool is positioned over the dump body to dump the load into the dump body. The boom unit can be adapted for coupling to different tools. For example, the tool can be a load bucket, a dipper bucket, an auger unit, a mower or a thresher. The vehicle can include at least one hanger member mounted to the chassis, which can be coupled to support the tool. The cabin can include a first seat for an operator of the vehicle and a second seat for a co-operator of the vehicle. The two seats can be positioned back-to-back to provide the co-operator with a clear view of the dump body and surrounding area to assist in moving the boom unit and tool to dump a load of earth, for example, into the dump body with accuracy. The dump body can be tilted relative to the chassis to discharge a load from the dump body. The dump body can be configured to dump the load from the rear end or on either side of the vehicle. The dump body can be configured with a floor portion surrounded by a front face, tailgate, and two side faces. A portion of the front face and the tailgate can be lowered to positions providing clearance for elongated load objects.
These together with other features and advantages, which will become subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.